Anna Chant's Blog, page 8

Kindle Countdown Deal on Dawn of the Franks

Dawn of the Franks – the story of Basina of Thuringia is just 99p or 99c until 9th April 2019.

[image error]This book takes us back to the beginning of the era, shortly after the Roman Empire has been weakened by Attila the Hun and fought a devastating battle at Cattalaunian Plains.

Opinion is divided as to whether the Roman Empire will muster again but Saxon visionary, Basina has foreseen otherwise, predicting a mighty warrior who will come to end the Roman dominance of Gaul.

She becomes the second wife of King Bisinus of Thuringia, but her new life is full of complications as she deals with the jealousy of his first queen and her own spoilt half-sister. But life is only to get more complicated with the arrival of Childeric, the disgraced, but handsome, King of the Franks…

Available on Amazon in ebook and paperback.

Advertisements

A Mothering Sunday post

Mothering Sunday was traditionally a time to visit the mother church – either the one where you were baptised or the nearest cathedral. However, in the UK  it has also become our Mother’s Day.

[image error]2009

There are still risks in becoming a mother, but here in the West, they have become rarer. This is something which has changed the experience quickly over just a few generations. My great-grandmother died from complications of childbirth in the 1920s, but when I approached the birth of my own children, I could be confident that we would both survive.

But that is here. Across the world both maternal and neonatal mortality remains high, just as it was for women here in the past. The female characters in my books all long for children, but they all know that this desire for children could be simply wishing for their own demise. The births they face will be hard, even the straight forward ones. Both Baena in Kenneth’s Queen and Eadgyth in The Saxon Marriage face births which are far from straight forward. Across the books are characters who lose children to prematurity, stillbirth and in their early years. Such scenes are always tough ones to write, but they are necessary for such was the reality of life for these women. However, I also get to write plenty of happy childbirth scenes, with the emotions for those women upon welcoming a healthy child into the world undoubtedly very similar to mothers in 2019.

[image error]Although not a main character, in Kenneth’s Queen we are introduced to Cinaed’s mother, Unuis. We learn from her that his birth has been a tricky one, as she gave birth far too young and remained ill for some time after his birth. What was that like for her? Here’s a short story for Mother’s Day.

Unuis’ story

   Unuis watched resentfully as the wet nurse brought little Cinaed to her breast. It was no one’s fault that she had been unable to feed him herself. No one’s fault that she had lain semi-conscious when her milk came in and still not properly regained it when it dried up again. But she hated being unable to care for her own son. The baby had been born over a month ago, but it was only in the last few days that she had been strong enough to even hold him.

She looked down, unable to watch another woman nourishing her son. It was an indignant squall that made her look up again. Cinaed had been placed in his crib, but he did not sound happy about it. The wet nurse went to pick him up again.

“No, I will take him,” Unuis said, trying to make her voice sound strong.

“But, my lady-”

“He has just been fed. You may go now.”

Unuis did not watch the wet nurse leave the chamber as she picked up the crying baby. “There, there, my little one,” she soothed. But it was of no avail. Cinaed continued to cry.     The noise pierced her to her heart. She felt so useless. Of course Cinaed would not be soothed by her. He had no idea who she was. The wet nurse had become his true mother.

She closed her eyes to stop the tears falling and began to sing a tune. It was an old Pictish tune that she often sang to remind herself of her homeland. Gradually the crying changed to whimpers and soon stopped altogether. Unuis opened her eyes expecting to see that the baby had gone to sleep. But he was wide awake, gazing up at her out of shiny gray eyes

“Oh, Cinaed,” Unuis whispered, a smile spreading over her face. She was certain that nothing could improve the perfection of that moment. But the baby had other ideas. He opened his mouth to smile a wide gummy smile up at his mother. Never had Unuis seen anything so beautiful.

Cinaed’s smile melted into a yawn, but he seemed contented to keep lying in her arms. Unuis curled up on her bed, her baby cradled close to her as his eyes gradually closed.

Feeling tired herself, Unuis placed her head next to Cinaed’s. She knew that she would have to summon the wet nurse at some point in the night, but she no longer resented it. Instead she felt grateful to that woman who had kept her baby alive when she could not. It no longer even mattered that she did not remember his birth or the moment that she was told that she had a son. This would be the occasion she would cherish for the rest of her life. The moment she was certain her precious boy had recognised her.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Five stars for God’s Maidservant

[image error]

“I’m unsure of how completely historically accurate this was, but I would trust someone with a degree in history and a penchant for the women of that time to try and follow as closely as possible. This was a great read of an incredible woman”

Kindle Countdown Deal on Rising from the Ruins

Rising from the Ruins, Book One in the Quest for New England series is just 99c or 99p in a Kindle Countdown Deal for one week only.

Set in the years after the Norman Conquest, the historical fiction book follows a group of Anglo-Saxons as they struggle with the new regime. At the story’s beginning, Siward of Gloucester is still rebelling against the Norman rule. But his support for Edgar the Atheling, the man he regards as the true King of England, is likely to be dangerous, with his lands and his life at risk.

To add to his problems he has felt obligated to marry Oswyth, an heiress orphaned by Hastings and a young woman who has personal reasons for hating him.

With the hope of the English rapidly fading, will Siward of Gloucester liberate England or will he have to find another way to save the English from a tyrant’s domination?

Rising from the Ruins is available on Amazon in Kindle Ebook or paperback.

[image error]

Advertisements

Kindle Countdown on Kenneth’s Queen

It’s the book which started them all and it’s just 99c or 99 until 19th March.

The Mac Alpin dynasty is a highly important one in Scottish history, playing the leading role in the emergence of the Kingdom of Scotland. Their founder was Cinaed Mac Alpin. He did not found the dynasty alone, yet on the subject of the woman at his side, both history and legend are silent.

Who was Kenneth’s Queen?

[image error]

For more on Cinaed Mac Alpin and Kenneth’s Queen see my guest post on the blog of Mary Anne Yard

And for a prequel to this story read A Night of Fire.

Advertisements

International Women’s Day

On this day as we celebrate the achievements of women past and present, as well as look to those the women of the future might reach, I want to remember the six women of the past who make up my Women of the Dark Ages series so far.

My stories give my interpretation of their lives, but whatever the truth, they played a role in the forging of Europe – a role which should not be forgotten.

Pagan Europe

[image error]As Rome falls, the Franks rise to power. Basina of Thuringia is a Thuringian queen, but the arrival of Childeric the disgraced King of the Salian Franks sends her on a different path – one which will prove crucial to the emerging dominance of the Franks.

Think the women of the past were confined to the home and [image error]hearth? The Island Girl will prove otherwise. An East-Anglian princess, as a woman scorned, she emerges into a formidable and ruthless military commander.

9th century

[image error]The Mac Alpin dynasty was pivotal in the forging of Scotland and Scottish monarchs are numbered from their founder Cinaed Mac Alpin. But he did not found the dynasty alone. Who was the Pict princess at his side and what part did she play in his rise to power?

Judith of Flanders was a young teenager when married to King Athelwulf of Wessex, a [image error]man in his fifties. But while his life was almost over, hers was just beginning as Judith emerges into a courageous young woman who must battle scandal, heartbreak, imprisonment and a desperate journey across Europe in her quest for happiness.

Ottonian Germany

Otto the Great had two wives, two women who emerge very differently into history. Otto is just seventeen when he marries Eadgyth of Wessex. She brings him the prestige of her ancient West Saxon bloodline, boosting Otto’s claim to the throne of Germany. But she brings him something more – a devotion to sustain him through some dangerous times. A devotion he never forgets.

Otto is a widower when he receives a plea for aid from Adelheid of Burgundy, the widowed Queen of Italy. Her first husband has died in suspicious circumstances and she is besieged by her enemies. She suggests a union – one which sends them both on the path to Rome.

[image error]

Who are your favourite women from history? Celebrate them today!

Advertisements

Happy World Book Day!

I love doing the school run on World Book Day – you meet such interesting characters!

[image error]This morning I was accompanied by Chrestomanci, a nine lifed enchanter who controls the use of magic across the related worlds. If anyone has any fantasy-loving children I strongly recommend the Chrestomanci Series by Diana Wynne Jones. And if you don’t have fantasy loving children, I recommend it anyway – just for you!

I am of course not remotely influenced by the fact that Chrestonmanci’s real name is Christopher Chant and I am certain he must be related to me!

Stories have been popular throughout history and books have long been treasured items. Who can forget the tale of the young Alfred the Great so fascinated by the decorated letters in his mother’s book that he was determined to win it? Even in an era when most people could not read, people would have gathered together to share tales and poems. A love of stories is truly something to unite mankind across the world and across the ages.

Whatever your taste in books or however busy you are today, don’t forget to read!

[image error]

Advertisements

Looking for something new to read?

With so many books and so many new ones written all the time, it can be hard to find your new best read.

On The Voice of Literature I have joined a group of authors taking up the challenge to explain what is unique about our books and why you should read them!

Take a look – I’m in some great company!

[image error]

Advertisements

Kindle Countdown Deal on The Girl from Brittia

The Girl from Brittia is on a Kindle Countdown Deal. Price is just 99p or 99c until 6th March 2019

Set during an era of global catastrophe (AD536 has been dubbed the worst year to be alive), the story was first told back in the 6th century by the Byzantine historian, Procopius. The heroine is not named, but is described simply as the Island Girl or the Girl from Brittia. Nameless she might be, but this warrior princess was clearly a formidable character, who was not about to accept being jilted by the man she loved…

Available on Amazon in Kindle eBook or paperback.

[image error]

For more on the backdrop to the story see In search of The Waste Land

Advertisements

A visit to British Library Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

[image error]Today is the final day of the wonderful Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition at the British Library. With my usual habit of leaving everything to the last minute I was lucky enough to visit it yesterday.

The collection of treasures is an eclectic one – runes to riddles, music to maps, bibles to brooches, charters to chronicles, coins to curses and much more besides. It reveals a people who took learning seriously, with books treasured objects. The condition of many of these books are in after more than a thousand years is remarkable with illustrations of intricate detail still in vibrant colour.

The careful workmanship in both manuscripts and jewellery is astounding, with details so perfect they rival anything we produce today with our printers and laser cutters. The texts too show a standard of handwriting which I can only look on with envy!

There is also an international flavour to many of the objects, showing a high level of cooperation with our European neighbours which feels particularly poignant in our current time as we seem to be drawing away from them. The collection includes texts brought from as far away as Africa, texts which show the influence of religious houses from Ireland, Scotland and the Frankish realms, records of Anglo-Saxon advisors at the Court of Charlemagne and a coin of the Mercian king, Offa so perfectly copied from an Arabic one that it even contains the inscription ‘Allah is Great’.

The exhibition also showed the very human side of the Anglo-Saxons, allowing them to reach out simply as fellow humans across the ages – an imperfectly repaired brooch which the metalsmith signed anyway, a brooch containing a curse on any who stole it, a charter with the scribe’s rough notes still attached.

The exhibition ends with the Domesday Book, a remarkable record of late Anglo-Saxon life and the start of the Norman era. It is a document I used frequently when researching Rising from the Ruins and found it in many ways to be a testament of tragedy, as the wonderfully evocative Anglo-Saxon names recorded from the time of Edward the Confessor give way to the more familiar names brought in by the Normans. It is a record of a people being replaced or at the very least, assimilated.

My favourites[image error]

Every item in the exhibition is a remarkable one, but there were some which, for often personal reasons, spoke particularly to me.

 As someone with a great love of Suffolk, the gleaming gold and remarkably well preseved  Sutton Hoo treasures are a particular delight. Blythburgh is a place I am very familiar with making it wonderful to see a whalebone tablet found there which would have been so much cheaper in those Anglo-Saxon days than vellum and might be used for scribes to practise their craft. And with my home now in Devon, I must give a shoutout to that wonderful collection of riddles and poems – The Exeter Book.

I love being in places or seeing objects associated with characters in my books, so it was great to see the Alfred Jewel and some charters of King Athelwulf of Wessex, both key characters in Three Times the Lady.

This made it particularly exciting to see the Coronation Gospels probably given by Otto I of Germany to Athelstan, as I mentioned this giving of books in The Saxon Marriage.

“What do you gain from this, my lord?” Aelflaed barely kept the sarcasm out of her voice.

“I gain a valuable ally,” Athelstan replied. “Naturally there is some exchange of treasures. King Henry and his son [Otto] have sent some fine books.”

 

While I would never have used the term Dark Ages to imply the Anglo-Saxon era was particularly brutal or ignorant, I have felt it sums up how hard the era is to ‘see’. Archaeological finds and manuscripts have seemed to me like candles shining in the darkness, allowing us intriguing glimpses into these fascinating times which only whets our curiosity further. Seeing all these treasures together has made those candles illuminate their world ever brighter.